The X-Files: Elegy Rewatch
May 31, 2020 8:12 PM - Season 4, Episode 22 - Subscribe
Mulder and Scully investigate after a Washington, D.C. bowling alley owner sees a badly injured, bleeding blond girl wedged inside one of his pinspotter carriages, and rushes out to the street to call for help, only to discover that the police are already on the scene because the girl's dead body is lying outside, beside a car.
The denouement of this one was silly. Nurse Innes was cartoonishly evil.
I thought the ghost effect wasn't as good as it might have been. I mean... black and white ghosts? Really?
I'm finding it strange that Harold (and possibly his roommate as well), was in a psychiatric hospital. He isn't mentally ill, just developmentally disabled. A group home would have been a better for him. And the "magical autism" aspect of this episode is pretty distasteful.
Yes, I'm not quite sure what to think of Mulder and Scully's talk either. Here's the transcript:
Scully: I saw something Mulder.
Mulder: What?
Scully: The fourth victim. I saw her in the bathroom before you came to tell me.
Mulder: (in a slightly annoyed tone) Why didn't you tell me?
Scully: Because I didn't want to believe it. Because I don't want to believe it.
Mulder: Is that why you came down here, to prove that it wasn't true?
Scully: No, I came down here because you asked me to.
Mulder: Why can't you be honest with me?
Scully: (defensively) What do you want me to say? That you're right, that, that I believe it even if I don't. I mean, is that what you want?
Mulder: Is that what you think I want to hear?
Scully: (softly) No.
Mulder: You can believe what you want to believe, Scully, but you can't hide the truth from me because if you do, then you're working against me ... and yourself. (his voice softens) I know what you're afraid of. I'm afraid of the same thing.
Scully: The doctor said I was fine.
Mulder: I hope that's the truth.
Scully: (whispers) I'm going home.
My interpretation of this is that Mulder wants Scully to always tell him the truth about their cases, because it'll hurt his/their work if she doesn't, which is fair enough. He's also demonstrating respect for her right to believe or not believe independent of him, which is good. I think that he didn't give enough weight to the reason she didn't tell him about the ghost she saw, because in the context of this case, the fact that she saw it means she is near death. She normally never hides anything about their work from him, so I think it wasn't necessary for him to scold her about withholding something in this case, given how incredibly painful it would have been for her to talk about it.
"That was Sloppy Joe night."
posted by orange swan at 6:00 PM on June 3, 2020 [2 favorites]
I thought the ghost effect wasn't as good as it might have been. I mean... black and white ghosts? Really?
I'm finding it strange that Harold (and possibly his roommate as well), was in a psychiatric hospital. He isn't mentally ill, just developmentally disabled. A group home would have been a better for him. And the "magical autism" aspect of this episode is pretty distasteful.
Yes, I'm not quite sure what to think of Mulder and Scully's talk either. Here's the transcript:
Scully: I saw something Mulder.
Mulder: What?
Scully: The fourth victim. I saw her in the bathroom before you came to tell me.
Mulder: (in a slightly annoyed tone) Why didn't you tell me?
Scully: Because I didn't want to believe it. Because I don't want to believe it.
Mulder: Is that why you came down here, to prove that it wasn't true?
Scully: No, I came down here because you asked me to.
Mulder: Why can't you be honest with me?
Scully: (defensively) What do you want me to say? That you're right, that, that I believe it even if I don't. I mean, is that what you want?
Mulder: Is that what you think I want to hear?
Scully: (softly) No.
Mulder: You can believe what you want to believe, Scully, but you can't hide the truth from me because if you do, then you're working against me ... and yourself. (his voice softens) I know what you're afraid of. I'm afraid of the same thing.
Scully: The doctor said I was fine.
Mulder: I hope that's the truth.
Scully: (whispers) I'm going home.
My interpretation of this is that Mulder wants Scully to always tell him the truth about their cases, because it'll hurt his/their work if she doesn't, which is fair enough. He's also demonstrating respect for her right to believe or not believe independent of him, which is good. I think that he didn't give enough weight to the reason she didn't tell him about the ghost she saw, because in the context of this case, the fact that she saw it means she is near death. She normally never hides anything about their work from him, so I think it wasn't necessary for him to scold her about withholding something in this case, given how incredibly painful it would have been for her to talk about it.
"That was Sloppy Joe night."
posted by orange swan at 6:00 PM on June 3, 2020 [2 favorites]
When he first gets to the bowling alley, Mulder picks up a ball and bowls a strike because he can never resist demonstrating his athletic ability whenever he gets a chance.
posted by orange swan at 8:39 PM on June 5, 2020
posted by orange swan at 8:39 PM on June 5, 2020
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
Creepy episode (especially the epilogue!), Mulder's latent young women victim empathy burbles up again - but this time it extends to the suspect also, again a soft spot for developmental disabilities.
Anderson's "cancer fighting face" is heartbreakingly familiar, and she's wearing her cross is out (er, wearing it on the outside).
Wow, what an actively evil and hurtful Nurse Ratched.
Super conflicted about Mulder's tough love/ hey Scully! reason and rationality talk.
posted by porpoise at 10:12 PM on June 1, 2020